Better late than never
by emergency-heart
Summary: Sequel to "Heart of Glass" and "A Mothers Love"  Five years on, Joseph and Jac are living together in Penrith and running the local surgery, but something is missing- is Jac really happy?  Part three of my series now titled "Piece me back together"


Better late than never.

"Mummy, I can't find my lunch box!"

"Jac, love have you seen my car keys?"

Tired and Exasperated Jac rolled over to face her man and her daughter. She had never been a morning person, but becoming a parent had dragged her kicking and screaming into seeing the earlier side of seven o'clock. It was supposed to be her turn for a lie in whilst Joseph drove Emily and Harry to school before returning to pick her up and take her down to the surgery. However Joseph never seemed capable of organising the children or himself without Jac's reluctant help. Emily was a messy miniature of her mother, with a mop of auburn hair that was cascading out of the plait Jac had tied it in the day before. Her face was still smeared with tooth paste and her green school uniform was already crumpled- she couldn't go to school looking like that- why hadn't Joseph noticed?

"They're in the desk draw, where you left them Joe," she grumbled "Emmy love, come here, you're a mess, where's you're hairbrush" she sat up in bed, pulled Emily on to her lap and began re-plaiting her hair. "Harry are you nearly ready?" she heard Joseph ask downstairs. The sound of the child thumping his way upstairs told her the answer had clearly been a no. She finished plaiting Emily's hair kissed her cheek and wiped the toothpaste from her face. "Go downstairs love, Daddy's waiting for you. Your lunchbox is already in your school bag, so is Harry's. Have a good day sweet heart." She smiled, as her daughter hugged her goodbye. "I love you mummy," she sang as she disappeared out the door. Jac glanced over at the clock; she still had ten minutes before she had to start getting herself up, "_lovely"_ she thought to herself as she rolled back over.

However her slumber was short lived as Harry tumbled into the room,

"Jac?" he wined

"Yes, love" Jac replied, trying to hide the annoyance that was beginning to bubble up inside her, what were they still doing in the house- hadn't Joseph realised they were going to be late?

"Have you seen my reading folder?"

"Harry, what have I told you about packing your school bag the night before?" she scolded him, "Have you looked in the living room?" she suggested. He nodded.

"Your bedroom?"

"It's not there," he winged

"Ok, try the dining room table" She grumbled "But if its not there, you're just going to have to go without it, because otherwise Daddy's going to be running late."

She got up, mildly annoyed that her lie-in had been so brutally snatched away. She gave Joseph a chaste kiss on her way to the kitchen, "I'll see you in a bit" he promised as he ushered the children into the car. As she nursed her coffee, Jac thumbed through the morning paper, flicking straight to the science and medicine section and reading up on the latest surgical advances and "miracle" operations. It was little compensation for Jac, though. There was something about being a surgeon that being a GP just couldn't offer. She liked how she didn't have be sweet and polite all the time and could just get on with fixing _real _problems, instead of being sat in a stupid office all day, clicking away at the computer and offering superficial advice to patients who probably wouldn't follow it anyway. Being a surgeon meant that she was in control and she could actually mend people, other people were much easier to fix, she thought, that was how she got into medicine in the first place. She grinned as she remembered actually admitting this to a young F1 back in her "Ice-Queen" days at Holby. He'd been assisting her through a complex operation and she'd gotten caught up in the moment and accidentally ended up seducing him. Those days were long gone, but Jac still found herself craving the thrills and highs that surgery gave her, these days she felt as though she might explode of boredom if she diagnosed another "common cold." Perhaps she could train to be a surgeon again and get a job at the local hospital now that Harry and Emily were older, she thought. There was only one problem though, how would Joseph take the idea? They had barely worked apart since the day they met and Jac knew she would miss him like crazy during the day.

She brought up the idea in the car on the way to work as they raced to get to the surgery in time for opening.

"But you haven't operated on anyone for five years" He argued, "and what about everything we've built here? Our patients love you."

"Oh come off it Joe," Jac retorted, "We both know, bed-side manner has never been my strong point. I became a doctor to save lives, not to dish out pills and prescriptions like a dispensing machine. It's not like I'm leaving you or anything drastic like that. I'm just bored of this."

"Bored of what?" Joseph demanded "Bored of me? Bored of life? What more do you want of me Jac? I've given you everything I can, short of marrying you. What else can there be?"

Jac was fuming, "It always comes back down to this doesn't it?" She snapped "I thought we both agreed that after what happened between us in the past and what happened with Faye, that marriage wasn't what we needed. We vowed never to hurt each other ever again and I thought that was all we needed." She was on the verge of tears now.

"You're hurting me now." Joseph sulked as he swung the car into parking space.

"Well maybe it's time to grow a pair Mr Byrne" snarled Jac, stalking out of the car and into the surgery, slamming the door of her office as hard as she could behind her. She switched on her computer and slumped over her desk, tears of frustration pouring down her cheeks. "_How dare he say that?" _she fumed _"I'd love to be his wife more than anything, he must know that. I love his son as if he were my own; I even gave him a daughter of our own. I love him, I mean I gave up everything for a family with him. Can't I at least get something back?"_

Joseph POV

Jac and Joseph didn't speak to each other all morning. Joseph kept hoping she'd pop her head around the door on their lunch break and perch on his desk in front of him, just as she always did, but today there was no sign of her. _"She really must've been serious about becoming a surgeon again." _ He thought to himself. He was furious with himself for the way he'd reacted to her idea that morning, he should have seen it coming, surgery was Jac's dream after all, and she'd given it up to be with him and raise his son. He loved her more than anything for that, even after ten tempestuous years of knowing her, he still couldn't believe how much she had changed for the better. He had to make it up to her. Perhaps five years ago, when they'd just got back together it was all a bit too soon and a little too raw, but that was a long way behind them now. They had a child together for goodness sake- what was there to lose? Joseph looked at his watch, he still had 25 minutes of lunch left, it was just enough time. He rushed out of the surgery, muttering something about emergency shopping to Marianne and headed for the nearest Jewellers shop.

"Come back and see me in two weeks if your symptoms persist, Mrs Jason" Jac smiled in her decidedly false "aren't-I-a-lovely-doctor?" voice as she held the door open for the old lady and watched her leave. Mrs Jason was her last patient of the day; now all that was left to do was finish some paperwork. It was so dull she could have cried. However just as she got settled at her computer her desk phone rang, grateful for the interruption and thinking it might be Joseph, she snatched it up.

"Jac Naylor," she said curtly.

"Jac, it's Marianne, I've got the head teacher at St Marys Primary School on the line, it's about Harry, do you want me put you through?" asked Marianne.

"Can't Mr Byrne, take it? I mean Harry's his son, I'm sure they'd rather speak to him." Jac sighed.

"He can't I'm afraid he's with patients until five tonight,"

"Ok, put them through to me, I'm not busy" she commanded.

"Hello?" A woman's voice called. "This is Catherine Glass here, head teacher of St Marys Primary School- can I ask who I'm speaking to?"

"Hi, this is Jac Naylor, I'm Harry's, uh step-mother, I suppose" she hesitated; she didn't really know what relation she was to Harry other than his legal guardian, "What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Um well I'm afraid Harry, has been in a fight with another child and I'm afraid I have no choice but to suspend him until next week. I don't suppose you could come and collect him?" explained Ms Glass.

"Yes of course, I'll collect Emily too if that's ok. I'll be there in 15 minutes" Jac muttered in a mild state of shock.

"Thank you Ms Naylor, I'll make sure she's ready to leave, by the time you arrive." Jac hung up the phone, grabbing her keys and bag in the process, "Marianne?" she called as she made for the exit, "Could you please tell Mr Byrne, that Harry's been in a fight and I've taken the car to collect him and Emily from school early. Can you tell him he's going to have to make his own way home tonight please? Thank you!"

She was stunned, it wasn't like Harry to fight anyone, he had inherited his father's calm and compliant nature. It was his sister who was the quick-tempered one not him, something must've really provoked him- but would could they have possibly said that was _that_ awful?

"Mummy!" squealed Emily in delight as Jac made her way into the school reception.

"Hello Princess," beamed Jac scooping her into a quick hug, "Now where's your brother?" Emily pointed towards the door leading to an adjoining room "In there" she said, "Mummy what's Harry done? Only naughty children get sent in there."

"I don't know, yet love that's why I'm here"

"Ah, Ms Naylor," Mrs Glass appeared through the door that Emily was pointing at, "This way please" She smiled at Jac through gritted teeth as she held open the door for her. As she walked through, Jac felt herself tense- she'd spent countless hours of her primary school days in the head teachers office before she'd realised she needed to keep her head down and her grades up if she was going to become a doctor. In her first few schools it was because she was being bullied, but by the last it was Jac who was doing the bullying.

Harry was sat hunched over in the corner of the room; he didn't even register when Jac entered the room. "He hasn't said a word to anyone since, it happened" Explained Mrs Glass, "He won't tell us if he was provoked or not, so we have no choice but to exclude him, unless he tells us what happened."

"Do you hear that Harry?" Jac said walking over to Harry, placing a firm but authoritative hand on his shoulder. "And don't think if you get to go home, you're going to have it easy matey, your Dad isn't going to be happy when he gets home." She warned.

"I don't want to talk about it Jac." Harry sulked "No-one will believe me."

"Right then, I guess we have nothing left to deal with here. We'd better get you and your sister home, but don't you for one second think this is over Harry Byrne." Jac said briskly "Sorry for wasting your time Mrs Glass."

"I'm not impressed Harry." Said Jac once the three of them were back home and Emily was upstairs with her dolls. "So, are you going to tell me what happened?" she prompted. Harry grunted in response and Jac suddenly realised he was fighting tears. "Did he say something to you? I need you to tell me Harry, I need to know if he provoked you or not. She persisted, putting her arm around the small boy, as he let out a gigantic sniff. "Eddie Perkins, said I didn't have a real mum!" he howled.

"But that's nonsense Harry," said Jac, perplexed "If anything you've got two mums, me and your actual mum, did you tell him that?" she asked, holding him tightly to her chest. "He said my mummy was a crazy lady, who ran away to with a slimy Frenchman, because she hated me and I made her crazy" Harry sobbed.

Frankly, Jac didn't blame him. She didn't know who she was angrier at, Faye, or the stupid brat that Harry had punched. She remembered the day Faye left their lives for good as though it were yesterday. Harry was barely a year old and Jac was heavily pregnant with Emily, when Faye rung Joseph without warning, announcing that she was back in the UK and wanted to see her son. Jac wasn't sure about what had really happened between Joseph and Faye that day, but when Joseph returned looked crumpled and broken, she knew she'd gone for good. The last they heard of her she was that she was back in Paris and had been admitted into a psychiatric unit over there after breaking down on the ward and attacking one of the younger male doctors who she was rumoured to be sleeping with. That was three years ago and they'd heard nothing from her since.

Jac sat down on the sofa and pulled Joseph's son close. "Harry," she whispered "Don't you ever believe that stupid boy; I knew your Mum and Dad long before you were born and I can promise you, that you did not make your Mum crazy. She needed help for a very long time. I just wish your Dad and I realised sooner." Harry was just about to respond when the living room door opened and Emily poked her ginger head forlornly around the door. "Mummy, can I have a cuddle too?" She asked. Jac nodded and allowed Emily to climb into her lap and stroke her brothers brown hair affectionately.

"Jac?" snuffled Harry. "How did you meet Dad?"

"Gosh Harry, that's a big question, how can I even begin to answer that? Do you even really want to know?" Jac chuckled. Meeting Joseph had hardly been an easy ride but when both children giggled and nodded eagerly, she took a deep breath and began.

"Before I met your dad, I suppose I was broken." Jac sighed "I didn't have parents who loved me like you two do. I didn't know how to love anyone and then Joseph came along. He made me so happy it scared me. People who made me happy didn't seem to stick around very long in my life; they just took pieces of me and left. So this time I decided to protect myself by getting rid of him before he got rid of me."

"But" interjected Emily "If you decided to get rid of him, then how come he's still here and so are Harry and me?" she said, stating the obvious.

"Hold on a minute Emmy and I'll tell you," Jac shushed her, "Eventually we broke up and he met Faye and married her and it wasn't until then that I realised how much I loved him. But I also realised that I'd had my turn and that if I truly loved Joseph, I would have to let him go. So that's exactly what I did, until the very day you were born Harry. It was you who brought us back together for the second time, but after Faye left for Paris, Joseph's job at Holby was too much to do when he was looking after a baby on his own. That was when he moved up here."

"You mean you and daddy?" asked Harry.

"No, it was just you and him at first." Jac replied solemnly. "He asked me to come with him, but I said no. I didn't want to give up everything I'd been working for- I loved my job too much." She breathed "It was the worst decision of my life. I was heartbroken. Joseph and I didn't see each other for nearly five months. During which time I discovered I was pregnant with you Emily. It was you two who brought us back together once and for all"

"Really?" Whispered Emily in that awed tone that only a child can really manage effectively.

Joseph POV 

The walk back from the surgery usually helped Joseph to clear his mind, but today his efforts seemed futile. Questions swam around in his head, was Harry ok? Should he encourage Jac to go for a surgeon's job? As he fumbled for his key in his jacket pocket, his fingers brushed the small jewellery box that was nestled in there and the answer was clear. If he loved her as much as he knew he did, he didn't have a choice. Quietly, he turned his key in the door and slipped into the hallway. The house was eerily silent, for once Harry and Emily weren't screaming at each other and the TV wasn't blaring. Joseph paused for a moment to relish in the peacefulness, until he realised he could hear Jac's voice speaking softly to the children in the next room. Feeling like a fugitive in his own home he crept to the door and listened.

"… he showed me how to love again and even though I fought him very step of the way, he was- and still is, the only man I'll ever love." He heard Jac admit as freely as he'd ever heard her.

Feeling confident, he strolled into the room. "And you Jac Naylor, are the only woman I'll ever love and I will support you what ever you want to do with your life" He declared boldly as he dropped to one knee, "I know I should have asked a long time ago, but will you marry me?"

_Three months later._

Joseph and Harry stood at the front of the registry office. He took a look at the small gathering of guests that had assembled themselves to witness the event. Sascha Levy was sat in the front row, trying desperately to keep his seven year old son Daniel from fidgeting too much. His wife Chrissie was sat beside him, talking animatedly to Joseph's sister Sophia as her three teenagers slouched beside her, looking politely interested but ultimately bored by the proceedings. Behind them sat Michael Spence dressed for the occasion in an expensive looking suit, however he was stupendously outdone by Connie Beauchamp and her daughter Grace. Both of them wearing designer dresses and looking equally striking in them, Grace had clearly inherited her mother's impeccable sense of style, Joseph thought to himself.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted as the music started up and the doors of the room opened to allow Jac and Emily to begin the short walk to join him and Harry. Joseph caught his breath, his daughter looked adorable in her sky blue bridesmaids dress but it was Jac, in her simple strapless ivory dress, who stole the show. Her auburn hair was hanging loose and curled at the ends, her green eyes glittered in a way that Joseph had never seen before and she just couldn't stop smiling at him. To him, she was perfect and she was finally his forever.


End file.
